Photo courtesy of Annabel Consuelo Petinglay/PNA
At least 45 jobseekers walked away with employment offers Friday after joining a one-day hiring event that drew 1,841 applicants in Antique.
The World Cafe of Opportunities at Robinsons Place brought employers and government agencies together with workers seeking openings in skilled and technical fields.
Among those who secured a job was Roland Agondez, a graduate of TESDA’s Shielded Metal Arc Welding training program who previously worked as a welder in Metro Manila.
Agondez returned to Antique in December 2025 and joined the fair as he looked for a new opportunity closer to home.
TESDA-Antique Director Rick Abraham said 28 participating agencies offered positions for welders, drivers and other skilled workers during the event.
The activity was designed mainly to connect graduates of TESDA technical-vocational and other training programs with available jobs in the government and private sector.
The job fair was mounted with the Antique provincial government through its Public Employment Service Office, along with the Department of Labor and Employment and the local government of San Jose de Buenavista.
The offices of Sen. Loren Legarda and Rep. Antonio Agapito Legarda also supported the event, which sought to give trained workers direct access to employers without having to leave the province to look for opportunities.